You can also use brown rice for this salad, and if you’d rather do this, cook the rice according to the packet instructions (separate from the quinoa) and then add it to the salad. The addition of quinoa makes this recipe healthier than a normal rice salad and introduces new flavours to kids. Basmati rice has a lower GI then jasmine, but if you only have jasmine it’s fine to use that instead.

Ingredients

Quantity

Ingredient

1

red capsicum, core and seeds removed, cut into 1 cm cubes

1

small eggplant, cut into 1 cm cubes, about 200-300 g

1 teaspoon

ground cumin

1 teaspoon

ground coriander

3 tablespoons

olive oil, plus 2 teaspoons extra if using haloumi

100g

quinoa

95g

basmati rice

1 pinch

sea salt

2 handfuls

baby english spinach leaves

250g

cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered

or 3

medium tomatoes, diced

180g

bocconcini, halved

or 250g

haloumi, thinly sliced

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan-forced and line a baking tray with baking paper. Place the capsicum and eggplant on the tray. Sprinkle over the ground cumin and coriander and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Toss to coat. Roast for 20 minutes, or until the eggplant is very soft (no one likes spongy eggplant).

Meanwhile, bring 375 ml of water to the boil in a medium saucepan. Rinse the quinoa and rice well, then add them to the water with the salt. Cover with a lid and simmer gently for 12–15 minutes, or until the water has been absorbed. Remove from the heat, place a tea towel over the pan, cover with the lid and leave the quinoa and rice to stand for 5–10 minutes to absorb the remaining steam.

Put the rice and quinoa in a large bowl and add the capsicum and eggplant. Add the baby spinach and toss to wilt it slightly, then stir in the tomato and 1 tablespoon of oil. Check the seasoning and adjust if necessary.

If you are using bocconcini, stir it through the salad. If you are using haloumi, heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a frying pan over a medium–high heat and fry the haloumi on both sides for 1–2 minutes until light golden. Arrange the haloumi on top of the salad. The salad can be served warm or at room temperature. However, if using haloumi, I would suggest serving the haloumi hot.

Note

Leftover rice or quinoa is great for lunch or dinner the next day. Simply add crumbled feta or goat’s cheese, diced cucumber and tomato, avocado and a handful of fresh herbs (flat-leaf parsley or coriander). Serve with a squeeze of lemon or a splash of white-wine, red-wine or apple-cider vinegar and a dash of olive oil.